Show #280 – Holistic Healing of People and Planet with Biodynamics Farmer, David McFall

LISTEN TO THIS WEEK’S SHOW ON iTUNES, STITCHER OR SPOTIFY OR LISTEN RIGHT HERE:

Love our new show tune in the intro/outro? It’s talented Australian independent artist Melanie Horsnell’s song “Birds”. So proud to support this wonderful Aussie artist and have her grace the show with her wonderful words and song!

Low Tox Club – The place to bring your low tox life to life.

Want to join a community of like minds and enjoy all the perks of being in the Low Tox Life inner circle such as an online membership platform, 50% off all our Low Tox courses, an awesome chat group, my monthly Q&A, and special guest star interviews for just $49AUD ($29USD/28EUR/23pounds) per YEAR? We have created a special place and set of resources to help you achieve your goals and it’s a wonderful place to be – MORE DETAILS AND REGISTRATION HERE.

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If you want to feel more certain and more hopeful about the future of food and our planet, this book is for you – Order yours today!

And on this week’s show!

“She shied away from talking about the neighbours saying they were unfortunately no longer on good terms,” David asked her what happened and eventually she shared that the neighbour had flown a pesticide spraying plane over by their property one day and the next, she miscarried. How to feel hope? Enter today’s guest, David McFall, a biodynamic farmer from Western Australia. Interviewing a farmer is always a feel-good experience on the show because they’re always farmers working with regenerative methods, leaving the landscape better and better, more biodiverse, sequestering more carbon, and developing healthier and healthier water systems with each passing year. I hope you enjoy this conversation about how farming innovation doesn’t need to hurt the people who farm or the planet, and how we all have a place in the world to connect to nature in some way and be good custodians – city or country peeps. 

Questions I asked David:

• Always a farmer or born-again? 
• And did you always farm biodynamically, if not, what were the steps/curiosities and challenges that led you to seek out a different way? 
• Gotiana – Switzerland
• How is the way we connect to landscapes broken/what can we do to heal that – as farmers, and as eaters living in all sorts of ways and places? What is “indigenising”? 
• What is the role of the consumer in changing the way we farm? 
• What are we fighting for? Let’s talk soil and the magic of it. 
• There are many forms of farming classified as regenerative, all with biodiversity, healthy water systems, and symbiotic relationships between plant/animal world at their core – how can you best describe where you’ve ended up? 
• Have you had difficulties with water security in the past? How have you designed the system to be more water-secure? 
• How do we influence elected officials to turbo charge the change we need?

About David McFall

David McFall is a 4th generation farmer located in the picturesque district of Cherry Tree Pool in the Great Southern District of WA. The property ‘Temple Farm’ is a leading example of regenerative organic farming with fully integrated projects such as Yeoman’s water harvesting, revegetation for habitat linkage, Oil Mallee agroforestry, and Carbon farming.

This week’s sponsors:

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Save Earth’s Skin – Weleda’s new brand campaign to raise awareness for the importance of soil health.

Soil is like our skin in many ways. Weleda cares for the soil of the Earth-like our skin, keeping it naturally healthy and as biodiverse as possible. Weleda is advancing regenerative agriculture through 50 soil conservation projects and helping local, sustainable agriculture projects to expand. Weleda’s goal is to grow this number to 60 partnerships. Its new agricultural management standard will increase the proportion of biodynamically grown ingredients from 20 %to 40 %.

As of 2022, Weleda is investing an additional 1 % of sales in climate protection, biodiversity and soil conservation. Weleda is certified according to the rigorous quality and sustainability standards of UEBT, B-Corp and NATRUE. Their local impact partner is Carbon8 and they’re donating $2 from every Skin Food product sold in April and May* to help transition Aussie farmers to regenerative agriculture and support them to rebuild the carbon (organic matter) in their soil from 1% to 8%.

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Other helpful links:

Learn more about COBWA: https://www.cobwa.com.au/

Flood Donation Resources for Lismore/Northern Rivers and Brisbane:

Lismore Library

What do donate: Cash/Books in any of these categories: Adult Fiction/Large Print Books/Junior & Young Adult Books/Children’s Story Books/Children’s DVDs/Jigsaws/Audio Books/Parenting Collection (non-fiction books on parenting topics)/Junior Non-Fiction Books

• Account Name Lismore City Council – RTRL Tax Deductible Gift Recipient Account
• BSB 062-565
• Account Number 10864916

• Name
• Address
• Date of deposit
• Amount of deposit

Baby Give Back

What to donate: They are currently accepting cash donations and the following items:

• Car Seats – New or Pre-loved
• Prams – New or Pre-loved
• Portacots, Cots, and Bassinets – New or Pre-loved
• Baby Carriers – New or Pre-loved
• Baby Food – ONLY (Can’t accept other food items)
• Nappy Cream
• Nappies, Wipes, and Formula
• Toiletries

You can register as a volunteer

To donate cash, you can go here.

For more deets on their different drop-off locations and their opening hours, go here.

They’re also on IG @babygiveback.

Animal Rescue Cooperative is focused on supporting food, water treatment, pumps, and containment for Animals caught up in the huge QLD/NSW Floods.

To start donating, you can click here. They are also a tax deductive gift recipient with DGR and you will be issued a receipt.

Ukraine Relief Resources:

New South Wales and Queensland SES

World Central Kitchen

Mercy Corps

A global team of humanitarians working together on the front lines is on the ground in Ukraine, Romania, and Poland, providing funding to local organizations that know their community needs best and working to meet urgent humanitarian needs.

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Enjoy the show,